1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to railway vehicles and more particularly to a cushioned center plate structure for a railway vehicle body and method of making such structure.
2. Prior Art Statement
Railway vehicles including locomotives, railway cars, and the like are each usually comprised of a main vehicle body which has body bolsters at opposite ends thereof and each body bolster has a body center plate structure which serves to transfer the load of the vehicle body at its associated end of the car to an associated truck which rides on railway tracks; and, each truck is provided with a truck bolster and a bolster bowl defined by a truck center plate structure which has an upstanding peripheral annular flange. Each railway vehicle body center plate structure is received within the confines of the flange of an associated bolster bowl and the entire load of the car body is transmitted through its body bolster center plate structures. During normal operation of the railway vehicle, the center plate structures and associated parts are subjected to high operating loads which include high vertical loads as well as high horizontal loads. The horizontal loads are exerted between each body center plate structure and an associated upstanding peripheral annular flange of a bolster bowl; and, it is desirable to provide cushioning means between each railway vehicle body center plate structure and its associated annular flange of an associated truck bolster bowl in an effort to eliminate or substantially reduce high horizontal impact loads between these components.
It is known in the art to provide a cushioned center plate structure for a railway vehicle body comprising a substantially cylindrical disc-like component which is adapted to be received within the confines of an upstanding peripheral flange of an associated railway vehicle truck bolster bowl, means for mounting the component to a body bolster of the vehicle body, and means for cushioning loads between the component and flange and as disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 179,192, filed Aug. 18, 1980, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,341,162 issued July 27, 1982 to the applicant herein. The cushioning means in this application serves to cushion horizontal loads between the above-mentioned component and flange. However, the above-mentioned known cushioned center plate structure has deficiencies of substantial complexity and comparative high cost.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved cushioned center plate structure for a railway vehicle body.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved method of making a cushioned center plate structure of the character mentioned.
Other aspects, embodiments, objects, and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following specification, claims, and drawings.